Audubon Everglades Spring Pelagic Tour

314 East Ocean Ave,Lantana FL 33462

21 May, 2022

Description

Audubon Everglades is excited to announce the return of our very popular program, Pelagic Tour! Get your sea legs on and come join us! A pelagic birding trip is done by traveling by boat offshore to view seabirds that rarely come ashore except to breed. Seabird (pelagic) species include tropical terns, shearwaters, jaegers, gannets and others. Come take a journey with Pelagic birding experts, Michael Brothers, Mitchell Harris, Larry Manfredi, & Dan Scolaro. THE DETAILS Space is limited — 40 person maximum. People who are current Audubon Everglades and NAS members will have priority to register. Cost: $85 per person. Includes the boat trip, tip for boat crew, pelagic leaders, snacks, water and fun. For people unfamiliar with the cost of other pelagic trips, this is a phenomenal value! This is a 5 hour Pelagic Trip with Guides Michael Brothers, Mitchell Harris, Larry Manfredi and Dan Scolaro on board. Please check in with Audubon Everglades Field Trip Leader Paula Gattrell, she will provide you with a ticket to board. The tour leaves from the Lantana Marina on the Lady K, which is a 70 foot walk around deep sea fishing boat with a Licensed USCG Captain and safety equipment. She boasts a wide beam that provides an exceptionally smooth ocean ride experience even when the waters become moderately choppy. The marina has ample parking and is located next to the Old Key Lime House. There is a bathroom on board (The Head). Boarding begins at approximately 6:40 am. The boat departs at 7:00 am sharp and returns to the dock at approximately 12:00 pm. Please be on time, the boat will not wait and there is no refund if you miss it. For boarding: You need to see Paula Gatrell for check in and a ticket for boarding will be issued. PLEASE NOTE: All sales are final, refunds wil only be given if the charter-boat operators cancel the trip due to wether and/or seas. WHAT TO BRING It is usually breezy on the water. Dress a little warmer or wear layers. It is better to be layered with clothes that you can remove than to be cold and not have a jacket or sweatshirt to ease a chill. It can also get wet. Wear close-toed shoes with a good rubber deck-gripping sole to prevent slipping or sliding as the boat deck is normally wet. Bring sunscreen or a large hat as you will be on the water for five hours. This boat will venture 10 miles out to sea, so we recommend that you take appropriate measures if you're prone to seasickness. Snacks and drinks will be provided, along with a water refilling station. We hope you have a wonderful time, and we wish you luck in spotting those beautiful Pelagics! If you have any questions or are in need of assistance, please contact Paula Gatrell @ 561-248-9089 We are so excited to have all these wonderful Pelagic bird guides in one place and have them share their knowledge and expertise to our Audubon Everglades audience. Meet our Pelagic tour leaders: Michael Brothers - Retired as Director of the Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet, Michael has been leading pelagic birding expeditions off Florida and Georgia for nearly 20 years and natural history tours throughout Florida, the Galapagos Islands, Kenya, and the Amazon. He is a member of the Florida Ornithological Society Records Committee and is the Florida regional editor of the journal North American Birds. Mitchell Harris (Florida Ornithological Society) - Mitchell has been interested in Natural History and all things out-of-doors from his earliest memories as a small child growing up in Vero Beach Fl. He took up birding fifteen years ago, and is now an avid birder that is most interested in pelagic type birds but enjoys anything that flies. His spark bird might have been a white morph Gyrfalcon that he saw many years ago, just north of the Brooks Range on the North Slope of Alaska. Larry Manfredi - Many birders might remember his name for the Western Spindalis that showed up in his yard between January 3rd and February 26, 1992. More than 400 people came to see that amazing vagrant. Realizing the number of people that share his interest, He decided to start guiding professionally. He contributed to the book titled “A Birder’s Guide To Florida” by Bill Pranty. He wrote the chapter on Homestead and helped with the sections on Miami, the Florida Keys, and Everglades National Park. He co-authored "A Birder's Guide To Metropolitan Areas of North America" by Paul Lehman and sold by American Birding Association. Dan Scolaro - I have been birding for about ten years and have traveled extensively to numerous states and other territories. I have seen almost 690 ABA countable birds in the lower 48 states and on pelagic birding experiences off boats in San Diego, Westport Oregon, and Miami as well as seabirds off the coast of Washington State and Oregon. Additionally, I have spent many days observing pelagic birds at Race Point in Cape Cod and locally at Boynton Inlet. Dan was an integral part of organizing the Pelagic tours with Audubon Everglades. We are very thankful for his assitance!